How to spot if your man is anorexic

Harrowing images of bulimics and anorexics invariably have one thing in common. They are almost all of women.

But according to doctors around Britain these images tell only half the story. An increasing number of men are now suffering from eating disorders.

Official figures claim that one in ten of the 1.1million people suffering from bulimia or anorexia nervosa in Britain is now a man. In reality, American researchers believe the figure could be as high as three in ten.

'It is a major problem,' says Dr Jeanette Downie, medical director of the Priory Hospital in Glasgow. 'We are definitely seeing an increasing number of men, particularly in the last year. It was once very uncommon in men, but it is on the rise.'

Eating disorders develop as outward signs of inner emotional or psychological distress or problems. They are often triggered by a traumatic event and become the way that people cope with difficulties in their life.

The majority of men affected are in their late teens and early 20s and come from all social classes and backgrounds.

Doctors believe changing trends in society could be to blame.

'There is much more pressure on men to look good now,' says Dr Downie. 'In the past it didn't really matter as much what men looked like, people took them as they came. That has most definitely changed over the past 20 years. Their role models have also changed from rough and ready men to prettier boys, male models and boy band look-a-likes.'

Dr Downie believes men are also now using different ways of coping with emotional and psychological distress.

'In the past men often used violence as a way of coping with problems they had,' she says. 'Now there seems to have been a move away from this and towards internalising these feelings, resulting in eating disorders.'

Experts say the illness, which is fatal for 10 to 20 per cent of sufferers, is compounded in men because it is more difficult to diagnose.

'It's common for people with eating disorders to go to the doctors as a cry for help. They want the doctor to wave a magic wand and for it all to get better, but they will not tell the doctor exactly what is wrong. Men often find it even harder to acknowledge they have a problem and seek help.'

Doctors may also find it harder to diagnose an eating disorder in a man because they believe they only affect women.

'If a girl goes off her food and starts to lose weight anorexia is often the first thing people think of,' says Dr Downie. 'If it happens to a man it is often not considered.'

The good news is, if caught early enough eating disorders can be successfully treated by focusing on how to develop coping skills do deal with underlying problems and anxieties in a patient's life.

'The illness is not about eating at all really,' said Dr Downie. 'It is about trying to gain control of your life.'